Post 1.2 Mercs

[ThemisBlackheart]

Okay so I am no pro at this game and some things are lost to me but I see a nerf when it's smacking me in the face. I enjoy my merc and was wondering if anyone could tell me, will merc healers still be strong post 1.2? And the will the changes to Arsenal affect the game play for pve/pvp a lot? If so what direction?

[MagnisLupus]

Okay so I am no pro at this game and some things are lost to me but I see a nerf when it's smacking me in the face. I enjoy my merc and was wondering if anyone could tell me, will merc healers still be strong post 1.2? And the will the changes to Arsenal affect the game play for pve/pvp a lot? If so what direction?

 

Only thing we can really do is wait and see, but from the looks of it, BH is getting shafted hard in every tree..... as is every non-force class, i'm hoping these nerfs don't make the cut in final release, but i'm sure they probably will.... and if they do, and it's as bad as we believe it will be, expect to see alot less people in game.

[Niconogood]

Of the 3 highranked commandos on my server, 1 has already left the game, 1 is rerolling, and Im playing occassionally til my sub runs out in a week or so. Never seen a nerf be so completely shafting in any game before. Almost like they want people to quit.

 

Cya guys in Diablo III in 4 weeks.

[Gennek]

The arsenal merc isnt realy nerfed, more a change to give you more rotation freedom, but yeah, bodyguard mercs are getting nerfed the hell out of them.

[Barberiann]

I'll just drop this from another thread I posted in. Basically just sums up my position on the 1.2 BH changes:

 

On the whole Tracer Missle argument, I literally don't care about a damage nerf. They could have lowered the damage of Tracer Missle by 30% and I wouldn't care at all - AS LONG as they would have spread that damage out to other abilities. The heatseeker missle 10% damage buff was a nice compensation, but rail shot remains meh for Arsenal. And now they have nerfed Power Shot too? How in the world did they expect that this would provide a more "active gameplay rotation"? There are still about 6 things in the Arsenal tree that REQUIRE us to be spamming Tracer Missle, so with these changes they have not accomplished anything except for making us use Unload with Barrage procs a little bit more frequently. Arsenal is boring as hell to raid with and even worse in PvP due to its terrible survivability and weakness to melee interupts/pushback.

 

My suggestions for Arsenal changes would be the following:

1) A Jetpack disengage ability that pushes us ~30m away from our target

2) Some sort of proc to boost damage and give us a free, no heat Missle Blast (literally havn't used that ability since like level 10)

3) Some sort of temporary immunity to interupts or gap closers that would give us a fighting chance against melee bashing our face in

 

Now to talk about the healing changes, which are the BIGGEST overall nerf of 1.2 to the Bounty Hunter class. As others have mentioned, I've played MMOs before, I don't really care about damage and healing % nerfs, those are quite ievitable. What I do care about is the resource management system that Bounty Hutners have to use (Heat) which is terrible compared to Operatives and Sorcs. Cutting the heat venting of SGC by 50%, increasing the heat cost of a Rapid Scan after a healing Scan by 50%, AND making Kolto Shell (an already almost useless ability) now cost 16 heat? These changes are absolutely ridiculous in terms of PvE and PvP. Managing our heat during healing intensive raid encounters or high burst pvp situations was already hard enough, now they are essentially making it 2x to 3x times harder to maintain ustained healing without needing to spam our Rapid Shot healing at them for half the fight.

 

Overall, I'm very dissapointed with the way Bioware has handled the 1.2 changes. I was really looking forward to some new content, new warzones and new gear. But with these very large, unwarrented changes to my only character... I find myself counting down the days until D3 drops so I can play a better, more fun game without a Sub to pay.

 

/endrant

Edited April 10, 2012 by LexiCazam
Inappropriate/old post

[Hexadorr]

Why on earth would you want a proc that gives you a free missle blast? Rapid shots is better than missle blast 95% of the time.

[Instapeace]

The arsenal merc isnt realy nerfed, more a change to give you more rotation freedom, but yeah, bodyguard mercs are getting nerfed the hell out of them.

 

As they should be. Try taking down a battlemaster bodyguard merc..

[TheNinjaboy]

The arsenal merc isnt realy nerfed, more a change to give you more rotation freedom, but yeah, bodyguard mercs are getting nerfed the hell out of them.

 

Really? How do you explain -

 

#1. Jet boost nerf (Arsenal merc)

 

#2. -5% Damage reduction talent (Arsenal merc)

 

#3. -3% Critical hit nerf - OK THIS AFFECTS Everyone but.... I think you get the point.

[NuclearPanda]

Just chiming in here also (lvl 50 Arsenal Merc as my main).

 

I along with many members of the Guild I was in unsubbed. I have about 14 days left of playtime left, but I doubt I'll change my mind.

 

The changes in 1.2 are going to be devastating, especially if the numbers from the combat logs people are posting on the PTS forums are any indication.

 

Too many nerfs + making BH healers worthless + lack of new content = Unsubbed

 

 

 

I feel horrible about it too. I really like the game and the Star Wars universe, but I can't see myself continuing to throw a subscription fee at EA/Bioware to play what I feel is practically a "beta" version of what this game should be.

 

They should focus on re-tuning the game itself rather than nerfing every class into oblivion, and that's not even mentioning the whole "you can only use ONE medpac in a fight" issue.

 

I'll see you guys when and if an actual expansion hits and they sort out a lot of the problems within the game.

[MagnisLupus]

Just chiming in here also (lvl 50 Arsenal Merc as my main).

 

I along with many members of the Guild I was in unsubbed. I have about 14 days left of playtime left, but I doubt I'll change my mind.

 

The changes in 1.2 are going to be devastating, especially if the numbers from the combat logs people are posting on the PTS forums are any indication.

 

Too many nerfs + making BH healers worthless + lack of new content = Unsubbed

 

 

 

I feel horrible about it too. I really like the game and the Star Wars universe, but I can't see myself continuing to throw a subscription fee at EA/Bioware to play what I feel is practically a "beta" version of what this game should be.

 

They should focus on re-tuning the game itself rather than nerfing every class into oblivion, and that's not even mentioning the whole "you can only use ONE medpac in a fight" issue.

 

I'll see you guys when and if an actual expansion hits and they sort out a lot of the problems within the game.

 

 

Can't say I disagree....... I was really looking forward to the 1.2 content additions, and then they sneak in these "balance changes" hoping that we will be too distracted by all the "shiny new content" to notice....

 

Remember in looney toons, the one where Porky Pig is getting ready to take his dog for a ride in the car, the dog is all excited because he gets to go for a ride, but a few miles from home, Porky stops the car and ditches the poor dog in the woods and drives off as fast as he can, leaving the poor dog with a confused and betrayed look on his face? Kinda feels like that's the treatment we're getting from Bioware right now....

 

I'll wait until 1.2 goes live to see for myself how things are... but yeah, my finger is hovering dangerously close over the unsub button.

[Macroecon]

Okay so I am no pro at this game and some things are lost to me but I see a nerf when it's smacking me in the face. I enjoy my merc and was wondering if anyone could tell me, will merc healers still be strong post 1.2? And the will the changes to Arsenal affect the game play for pve/pvp a lot? If so what direction?

 

The jury is still out on healers in general and merc healers in particular. On the PvP side, the massive gear bonus combined with the nerfs to most dps classes SHOULD leave healers OK. On the PvE side however I sense fewer adjustments to HM FP & ops bosses - endgame PvE might be harder for everyone, not just healers.

 

On Arsenal, you will also get different opinions. For what it's worth, I think Arsenal becomes obsolete in PvP, although still useable in endgame PvE. Here's the problem with Arsenal - it never should have been a solo 1v1 PvP platform. It should have been the team debuffer. And it can still do a good job at that - IF the entire team is focused on one target. But in a mixed target environment, such as in PvP, there are now better options. On top of being a better dps platform, the Mara/Sent has better buffing and it's teammate rather than target based - perfect for PvP. A voice comm coordinated team of Mara/Sents can chain Frenzy/Bloodthirst for over a minute at a time for the entire team. That's game over in PvP land. Why bother with an armor debuffer such as Arsenal?

[Giobiwan]

The jury is still out on healers in general and merc healers in particular. On the PvP side, the massive gear bonus combined with the nerfs to most dps classes SHOULD leave healers OK. On the PvE side however I sense fewer adjustments to HM FP & ops bosses - endgame PvE might be harder for everyone, not just healers.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but the jury is not out. Bodyguard mercs ARE BEING NERFED to the ground...if 1.2 launches in it's current state, the class is broken.

 

Guilds that are farming Nightmare mode with Bodyguard healers on live servers, CANNOT complete the same instances on the test server.

 

So, no the jury is not out there...we were found guilty and executed.

[Macroecon]

Guilds that are farming Nightmare mode with Bodyguard healers on live servers, CANNOT complete the same instances on the test server. So, no the jury is not out there...we were found guilty and executed.

 

Actually you are simply confirming my statement that PvE is going to be harder. Meanwhile there is a thread in the PTS server going on 300+ posts where the OP states that her BH healer is about on par with an Operative healer in PvE.

 

Within a month, those same guilds that farm NM on live will be outfitted in the next tier up in gear making all endgame PvE easier once again. This is the difference between PvE and PvP - gear progression in PvP in the long run is a nullification issue (except for healers).

[alderdale]

As they should be. Try taking down a battlemaster bodyguard merc..

 

Try taking one down with a high DPS class also wearing Battlemaster gear? Happens on a regular basis......

 

If we go all the way down the healing tree and with the best PvP gear in game it better be really hard to kill us, since we arnt going to kill anyone else who is equally geared. Thats the whole point of the build. We are constantly getting focused in PvP we have to be able to survive to be effect healers for our group.

 

Whats the point of being a dedicated healer if one equally geared player can just take us down? None, and no one will play the class if thats the case.

[Vaprax]

i was pvp'ing on my bodyguard all the way through 10-49...i usually couldnt outheal one person hitting me, let alone the whole team which naturally focus'd on me. i get to 50 and guess what....i cant even get a heal off before i'm dead, and now they are messing with the heat. theres one problem with em forcing merc healers to rely on rapid shot heals....i cant heal myself with it, so yeah, lets make sure i overheat after 4 or 5 heals trying to stay alive....... Edited April 10, 2012 by Vaprax

[Aalexi]

As they should be. Try taking down a battlemaster bodyguard merc..

 

As I've said before, imo no better than any other healer and the heat cost leaves bounty hunters with 20 seconds of constant healing at best. The lack of interrupts means you can use powerful charge abilities against us, and if you look at say, the Jedi sage.

With force armour, force stun, force lift and (I forgot the name) the pushback ability, you're looking at ten seconds at least from those alone before you even DO any damage, not to mention their equal ability to heal it (while healing any nearby allies too in the case of one ability). Not to mention their ability to interrupt, and lockout, your more powerful charge abilities.

I have no personal experience with that level of PvP, but having spoken to a lot of BH's that have they've all said the same thing:

'We're not overpowered, I could take down a healing spec merc without much trouble, they're just complaining because they can't be bothered to learn our rotations and weaknesses'.

Obviously, not my personal opinion since my BH isn't that level. But it seems to be a widely held opinion.

My personal experience as a healer is that constantly healing is impossible or short lived. Even in PvE where damage output isn't nearly as high I have to be constantly careful about how I rotate my heals for maximum healing with low heat cost, or I simply end up overheated, unable to heal, and as an added bonus, borderline defenseless.

The idea that sages/sorcs need nerfing less than a BH is laughable.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Aalexi

[LoloStarwind]

The arsenal merc isnt realy nerfed, more a change to give you more rotation freedom, but yeah, bodyguard mercs are getting nerfed the hell out of them.

 

yes they are litterally 30% estimated or sp dmg reduction because of cast time and dmg nerf

[SlimsPicken]

The bottom line to me is that they have raised the skill cap so high in managing heat to heal resource that only the top 1% players will be able to properly manage a merc/commando healer in end game content.

 

Not everyone who plays a merc/commando is as good as Leonardo or the other 1% top players who make the game trivial by supreme skill.

 

I was one of the most vocal merc testers in regards to heat problems in beta, because I foresaw this exact scenario happening- make heat management too hard and only the best of the best can juggle the resource to make the class effective.

 

The very best players remain effective, but the skill cap prevents the greatest majority of the player base from enjoying/being effective with this class.

[Karlonta]

yes they are litterally 30% estimated or sp dmg reduction because of cast time and dmg nerf

 

this is what u're saying is the 30% nerf (including the damage reduction)?

 

Tracer Missile has been rebalanced in order to encourage more active gameplay rotations. It now generates 16 Heat, has a 2-second activation time, and deals approximately 10% less damage.

 

ok, now bear with me here, about 2 lines higher on the PTR notes it says this

 

Muzzle Fluting no longer reduces Heat costs. It now reduces the activation time of Power Shot and Tracer Missile by .5 seconds.

 

ok, now it is back to its normal cast time. oh but it is nerfed by 10% damage

 

Heatseeker Missiles' damage output has been increased by approximately 10%.

 

if that isn't a big enough buff to even it out for you, they also buffed barrage's proc rate (which is arguably the hardest hitting ability [does 1k per tick for a total of 3k and about 2k per tick if it crits which could make it anywhere from 4k-6k]). and during the channel you are slowly venting its heat value to make it as if you didn't use the ability.

 

Barrage: The chance to trigger this effect has been increased significantly

 

honestly arsenal mercs and gunnery commandos, are about = if not better than they are on live.

 

healers are a different story entirely, bodyguard mercs are probably not going to be the first choice for progression, but with skill and gear they could prolly pull something out of the air. (yes bodyguard mercs and combat medic commados have been nerfed for little reason [that i can see of anyway])

[Tythespy]

I'm about to roll a merc BH in about 5 minutes but after reading all this I want to know if it'll be viable in PVP (That's all I really do) after the patch. A nerf is a nerf, but they should still be ok, right?

[DEuZZ]

The arsenal merc isnt realy nerfed, more a change to give you more rotation freedom, but yeah, bodyguard mercs are getting nerfed the hell out of them.

 

lol. "of course" they not nerfed. -10% tracer's longer cooldown on knock back skills thats all we have vs melee.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Notannos
rude, no warning

[MagnisLupus]

lol. "of course" they not nerfed. -10% tracer's longer cooldown on knock back skills thats all we have vs melee.

 

Noone seems to mention probably the worst overall bh nerf.... DFA reduced from 8m to 5m.... and with the cd on dfa, they basically made dfa completely useless......... after 1.2 i can't see any reason to use it at all.... ever.

Edited April 11, 2012 by Notannos
rude quote, no warning

[Macroecon]

DFA needed to be nerfed so that it was inferior to the Marauder/Sent's AoE attack. Now the Marauder/Sent's AoE attack has the same radius and the advantage of a 12 sec CD, i.e. they can use it 5 times as often. So everything is in its proper order now. Stop complaining. BW has mandated this.

[Aalexi]

I did have to wonder how they justify nerfing DFA when my sages Forcequake has an instant cooldown (aside from global). Less damage, I admit. But as a healer spec for a sage, with forcequakes knockdown, I can absolutely decimate any norms while barely taking a hit (certainly nothing that force armour can't handle). That I remind you, is as a healer spec. With the bonuses it recieves/provides as a telikinetics spec I could probably use just that in every situation and win...

[Jenzali]

I've played other MMO's and always stuck with the same class despite any nerfs. A flat 31% throughput nerf (see RuQu's numbers) to healing Mercs is absolutely insane though. I can't think of any other game where a nerf that big (1/3rd) has occurred in a single patch. I plan to keep playing my Merc but I know in the end it will probably cause more frustration than fun. Unless you consider spamming Rapid Shots and waiting at the respawn gate fun. Edited April 11, 2012 by Jenzali